Ally Corey Prof Fogleman EDC102H 10 September 2014 Academic Autobiography Entry 1 While journeying through school there are always going to be people who influence you. It could be in a positive way or in a negative way. Especially in your elementary years, a teacher could encourage or discourage you and it may affect your outlook on school forever. For me, I was influenced by many of my teachers throughout my educational career. One in particular that seriously benefitted me was my third and fourth grade teacher Mrs. Hunt. Our class looped which means that I had she same teacher and classmates for two years. Looping with an exceptional teacher as Mrs. Hunt was a transformational experience for me.
For my first three years of schooling (kindergarten, first, and second grade) I went to a private catholic school. Third grade was the first year for a big change for me. I was going to a new school, a public school that was closer to my house where I didn’t know any people. It was intimidating especially for a shy, timid girl that got red in the face whenever asked to speak. Public school was of course surrounded with rumors and how it would be much different than the catholic school I started in. Of course it was different but not in a negative way whatsoever.
Third grade is the first year where the school work shifts. Students begin reading more dense books and writing paragraphs as well as starting multiplication and division. Luckily I had the benefit of being in Mrs. Hunt’s third grade class. Mrs. Hunt was one of the best teachers in our school. At the time I didn't know how extremely lucky that I got. She was always encouraging all of us students to try our best and to never give up when the course material got tough. In both third and fourth grade, the lessons we were learning were becoming more difficult. I definitely had trouble understanding what I was learning in the beginning of third grade.
I remember one specific time she was very helpful when I was struggling with reading. We were all put into reading groups based on our reading skill. I was placed in a higher level reading group due to my success in the Catholic school but it was a struggle for me. The other students naturally read very quickly, more quickly than the caliber that I was at. I would get frustrated easily when the other students in my group would finish the pages assigned to read before me. It was easy for me to just mentally check out of reading time because I automatically assumed that I wasn't as good as everyone else. Mrs. Hunt started to notice that I wasn't contributing much to reading group time so one day after class she had asked me to stay after and we could talk about what was going on. Of course I was so nervous and timid to talk to this woman who was bursting with enthusiasm and personality. But after talking to her she encouraged me to continue to try my best during reading group and that giving up just because it's the easy way out is not the most beneficial. She told me that reading is a wonderful hobby and that I should give it a second chance. After our little talk I decided that starting in my next reading group time that I was going to ultimately give reading my best effort. Throughout the next few weeks reading group got much better. I started to pay more attention and my love for reading grew. Mrs. Hunt taught me the valuable lesson that when the going gets tough just keep trying. Reading, something that I dreaded doing blossomed into something that I thoroughly enjoy. To this day I am thankful for Mrs. Hunt’s encouragement because reading is something that brings me happiness.
Mrs. Hunt was also my fourth grade teacher as well. My whole third grade class “looped”. We were all in third and fourth grade together. It was such a beneficial opportunity because the course work in fourth grade obviously gets more difficult. Therefore I was able to be more successful by being in my same class as the year before. This experience definitely boosted my confidence and self esteem. Being in a classroom where you knew all of your peers and teacher was very comforting. Fourth grade was one of my most successful years because I was surrounded by familiarity. Mrs. Hunt knew how all of us students worked best and therefore was able to provide us with the best techniques in teaching us the more difficult material of fourth grade. That year I transformed from being very timid to being more outgoing. I wasn't as nervous to express how I felt because I was in a classroom where every face was familiar to me. I would absolutely recommend this in other elementary school settings because it did give me the confidence in myself that I can be successful in my education and that is all thanks to Mrs. Hunt.
My third and fourth grade years were very influential to how the rest of my education played out and is continuing to play out. Thanks to Mrs. Hunt I am grateful for her pushing me to appreciate the love of reading. Also I am thankful I had her for two years in a row with my same classmates because it made me into the more confident girl that I am today. Those two years showed me that I could be whatever type of student that I wanted to be. I decided at such a young age that I wanted to be the student who worked hard and never gave up on my schoolwork. For example just this past semester I was in a literature class that I struggled in. Because of Mrs. Hunt's lessons she gave me the incentive to go to my professor's office hours for extra help. Just like in reading group how I was struggling, I spoke to my professor and she helped me through the class. I'm glad that I had enough confidence to go for extra help, if I never had Mrs. Hunt I'm not sure if I would have went the extra mile in that class. The values Mrs. Hunt gave me in the third and fourth grade still impact my education to this day.
Prof Fogleman
EDC102H
10 September 2014
Academic Autobiography Entry 1
While journeying through school there are always going to be people who influence you. It could be in a positive way or in a negative way. Especially in your elementary years, a teacher could encourage or discourage you and it may affect your outlook on school forever. For me, I was influenced by many of my teachers throughout my educational career. One in particular that seriously benefitted me was my third and fourth grade teacher Mrs. Hunt. Our class looped which means that I had she same teacher and classmates for two years. Looping with an exceptional teacher as Mrs. Hunt was a transformational experience for me.
For my first three years of schooling (kindergarten, first, and second grade) I went to a private catholic school. Third grade was the first year for a big change for me. I was going to a new school, a public school that was closer to my house where I didn’t know any people. It was intimidating especially for a shy, timid girl that got red in the face whenever asked to speak. Public school was of course surrounded with rumors and how it would be much different than the catholic school I started in. Of course it was different but not in a negative way whatsoever.
Third grade is the first year where the school work shifts. Students begin reading more dense books and writing paragraphs as well as starting multiplication and division. Luckily
I had the benefit of being in Mrs. Hunt’s third grade class. Mrs. Hunt was one of the best teachers in our school. At the time I didn't know how extremely lucky that I got. She was always encouraging all of us students to try our best and to never give up when the course material got tough. In both third and fourth grade, the lessons we were learning were becoming more difficult. I definitely had trouble understanding what I was learning in the beginning of third grade.
I remember one specific time she was very helpful when I was struggling with reading. We were all put into reading groups based on our reading skill. I was placed in a higher level reading group due to my success in the Catholic school but it was a struggle for me. The other students naturally read very quickly, more quickly than the caliber that I was at. I would get frustrated easily when the other students in my group would finish the pages assigned to read before me. It was easy for me to just mentally check out of reading time because I automatically assumed that I wasn't as good as everyone else. Mrs. Hunt started to notice that I wasn't contributing much to reading group time so one day after class she had asked me to stay after and we could talk about what was going on. Of course I was so nervous and timid to talk to this woman who was bursting with enthusiasm and personality. But after talking to her she encouraged me to continue to try my best during reading group and that giving up just because it's the easy way out is not the most beneficial. She told me that reading is a wonderful hobby and that I should give it a second chance. After our little talk I decided that starting in my next reading group time that I was going to ultimately give reading my best effort. Throughout the next few weeks reading group got much better. I started to pay more attention and my love for reading grew. Mrs. Hunt taught me the valuable lesson that when the going gets tough just keep trying. Reading, something that I dreaded doing blossomed into something that I thoroughly enjoy. To this day I am thankful for Mrs. Hunt’s encouragement because reading is something that brings me happiness.
Mrs. Hunt was also my fourth grade teacher as well. My whole third grade class “looped”. We were all in third and fourth grade together. It was such a beneficial opportunity because the course work in fourth grade obviously gets more difficult. Therefore I was able to be more successful by being in my same class as the year before. This experience definitely boosted my confidence and self esteem. Being in a classroom where you knew all of your peers and teacher was very comforting. Fourth grade was one of my most successful years because I was surrounded by familiarity. Mrs. Hunt knew how all of us students worked best and therefore was able to provide us with the best techniques in teaching us the more difficult material of fourth grade. That year I transformed from being very timid to being more outgoing. I wasn't as nervous to express how I felt because I was in a classroom where every face was familiar to me. I would absolutely recommend this in other elementary school settings because it did give me the confidence in myself that I can be successful in my education and that is all thanks to Mrs. Hunt.
My third and fourth grade years were very influential to how the rest of my education played out and is continuing to play out. Thanks to Mrs. Hunt I am grateful for her pushing me to appreciate the love of reading. Also I am thankful I had her for two years in a row with my same classmates because it made me into the more confident girl that I am today. Those two years showed me that I could be whatever type of student that I wanted to be. I decided at such a young age that I wanted to be the student who worked hard and never gave up on my schoolwork. For example just this past semester I was in a literature class that I struggled in. Because of Mrs. Hunt's lessons she gave me the incentive to go to my professor's office hours for extra help. Just like in reading group how I was struggling, I spoke to my professor and she helped me through the class. I'm glad that I had enough confidence to go for extra help, if I never had Mrs. Hunt I'm not sure if I would have went the extra mile in that class. The values Mrs. Hunt gave me in the third and fourth grade still impact my education to this day.